Kole: Double DQ? That's bullshit. It’s obvious there’s a conspiracy against our glorious nation Flex. Wasabi was simply minding his own business, if anything I should be victorious via DQ, Titus is the one who got caught using a weapon. And don’t get me started on your match tonight…it’s just blatant and it’s outrageous. FlexAmerica deserves respect and we need to make this company realize that.

Kole finished talking and threw the towel around his neck at the wall of the room they were in, each member visibly irritated by the nights events.

Flex:You are right Keith. There is a conspiracy against us and we need to get to the bottom of it. What we need to do first however is go back to headquarters and regroup. We don’t act hastily, we act intelligently and we attack with our plan at the right moment. You did well tonight Keith, Titus wasn’t ready for the new you. Your next opponent won’t be caught off guard though.

Flex stood up and patted Keith on the back as he and Wasabi headed out to the parking lot, leaving the Secretary of State and his friend Kassandra Kross alone in the room.

Flex: I'll see you at HQ later Keith.

Kassandra watched as the rest of FlexAmerica exited and then she let out a deep breath.

Kross: (Sarcastically)So this is really a big improvement over being solo huh? I mean you didn’t lose so I guess that’s a thing..

Kole looks over at his friend. She's still not fully on board with Keith's jump to F.A. and can’t understand why he would do this. Kole just smiles and places his arm around her.

Kole: Someone's got jokes I see. Kass I know you still don’t agree with this but you gotta understand that in just two Meltdowns I’ve went from bottom of the card, to main event level, and that’s due to my affiliation with King Mussel. This is what’s best for my career.

Kass looks over at her friend and forces out a smile.

Kross: I get it Keith, I just feel this ends badly whenever it ends and I don’t wanna be like “told you so” I’m glad you feel more relevant now and you know I hope you succeed…..just be careful Keith. That’s all.

With that she got up and left the room to go grab the car so that the two could head off for some rest before Keith plans out his next phase with Flex.

One Week til AS134
Kole’s HomeSan Diego,CA
Kole was at home, in the midst of a large gaming binge. He enjoyed a good game on occasion and currently he had been playing Dark Souls:Remastered. He sat down and cracked his Coke, taking a drink before picking up the controller and resuming his adventure…

…Kole stood up from the bonfire and checked his gear. He had his shield and his sword, his estus flask was full and he had his soul arrows ready. Kole headed out from the room and was careful not to trigger the sentinels scattered throughout the courtyard. It was eerily quiet as Kole moved thru the city, even though he knew that the formidable Silver Knights were lurking at practically every corner. After crossing the courtyard Kole reaches a tall open staircase and he pauses a moment to survey the area.

Kole(To himself): Well there’s two Bat Demons up ahead and I don't think I’ll be able to kill them and not alert the sentinels outside as well.
Kole readies a soul arrow and unleashes the blast of energy and connecting with a direct shot to the head of the demon. The shriek from the demon brought the attention of the other bat as well as the two large sentinels. Kole shot another soul arrow and connected yet again to the last remaining bat before readying his sword and shield as the statuesque sentinels approached. Kole dove between the legs of one and stabbed it deep in its heel. As the creature squealed out, Kole quickly spun around the legs of the other disorienting it before plunging his blade into the Achilles. Both behemoths lost balance, colliding with each other before exploding into pieces upon hitting the ground. Kole narrowly escapes the damage and proceeds into the room where the two so called “protectors” waited.

Kole entered the room and looks for Tastic and Smough. After a bit he spots the slob that is Stormrage.

Kole(To Himself): He would be eating that fat sack of crap. I need to fight carefully though. I can’t go one on one with them since they’ll never let the other fight alone. So I’ll have to keep my focus on Tastic Ornstein and keep tubby across the room.

Kole went to sneak up but the lithe warrior spotted him and quickly dashed towards his direction. Kole quickly fires off three soul arrows but only one connects. Kole grabs his sword and charges the knight. The sound of the two warriors weapons colliding against each other echoing throughout the room, the fat Stormrage Smough grabbing his hammer and proceeding to come to his friends aid.

Kole side stepped Tastic and his spear, swinging at the knight, but he simply catches the blade, stopping it from hitting him. Kole reacts quickly however and delivers a strong kick to Tastic Ornstein, releasing the hold. Before Kole can so much as breathe, he feels the vibrations from the lumbering lardass, and rolls away from the incoming hammer smash. Kole rushes across the room and hide behind a pillar.

Kole(To Himself): Fuck fuck fuck! Stubborn sons of bitches.

Kole dashes away from the pillar and not a moment too soon as the pillar exploded into bits of stone from Stormrage's hammer. Kole ran across the room towards the next pillar and stopped turning to face Tastic. He waited until the warrior thrusted his spear and dodging at the last moment, allowing his opponents weapon to bury deep within the stone. Keith quickly darted around to behind Ornstein and grabbing his sword with two hands and slashing viciously downwards, meeting the cold flesh of Tastic Ornstein, Kole’s weight and strength forcing the blade through to the chest. Kole,covered in the spurting blood of Ornstein kicks the helpless body off of his blade. At the same moment, Stormrage Smough let out a sickening howl of grief for his friend, his fellow comrade and Kole would swear, his secret lover. The rotund protector charges at Kole and he quickly obliges, dodging a hammer smash that gets partially stuckin the ground. This is all Kole needs as he runs up the giant hammer and it's handle. He jumps up the arm of the fat man and as he's passing by his face he can see the stream of tears falling down Stormrage as if there is no fight left without his Tastic by his side. With a deep breath Smough closes his eyes as Kole lets his blade open the throat of the grieving gargantuan.

Kole jumped to the floor and as the last glimmer of life faded from the protectors body, a glowing gold object floated above. Kole approached and as he reached out he saw it for what is was….his new championship. Kole stepped upon the whale of a carcass and held his new found glory high above his head……

….Kole is jolted from his thoughts by a swift smack upside his head and he looks around to find Kassandra looking at him irritated.

Kross: Really? Video games? You need to get to the airport before your precious king leaves you behind and travels to Puerto Rico without you.

Kole looks at his friend and smiles.

Kole: I did it Kass. I beat him. I slashed his friend and then took that gold from him. I defeated Mikey already Kass, don’t you get it? He just doesn’t know it yet!

Kassandra simply rolls her eyes as she rushes her friend out the door and off to meet with his FlexAmerican cohorts.

E-Fed Mod

"Can you have Matt call me? I've tried to get in touch with him for a couple of days now and nothing. I need someone at the school who can, you know, actually managed things. We've had guest coaches in all week. I told Matt I had corporate stuff to deal with. I'm already late for my meeting with the new boss. He isn't making things easier."

The voice of Grandpa was on the other end of the phone.

"I'll try, but he hasn't been himself lately."

"Thanks Grandpa. I gotta go, I'm at my meeting."

We said our byes and I rushed inside after thanking my driver. This was not a good day at this point.

I was nervous. I hadn't been in the same room as the boss for a long time. I hadn't worn a suit in a long time either, but I had to keep a professional appearance. WZCW was entering a new era, the old guard were almost gone and the company was waiting on new stars to step up. It was understood as one of the veterans I had to take a leadership role. Not only as a veteran, but as a dual champion and Hall of Famer. It wasn't exactly a role that I was used to, but WZCW was my lifeblood so I intended to make it work.

I got to the receptionist's desk.

"I'm here for a meeting with the boss man. I'm a little late."

"Go on the elevator, 4th floor, room 401. He is expecting you Mr. Stormrage."

I nodded my head at her and adjusted my title belts and made my way to the elevator. I hated elevators. Just being in them made me uneasy. It was an irrational fear because even if the cable system were to snap, there are brakes built in to stop you from plummeting to your death. Why did I always think about useless info when I was nervous? The door opened and I made my way down the hall. I swallowed hard before I walked in.

"Ah, Mikey, good to see you. Hope I didn't keep you waiting long."

"Oh not at all Mr. Bateman, I was worried I was going to keep you waiting. My Uber got stuck in traffic."

We shook hands and he offered me a seat before he took his place behind his desk.

"No need to worry. Las Vegas traffic can be a pain."

"Indeed. Las Vegas traffic is something else."

"Yup, good old Las Vegas, home to WZCW Headquarters."

I nodded my head.

"Let's get down to business. I'm sure you have an idea of why I called you here."

"I figured it might have something to do with me being one of the more tenured guys on the roster."

"Precisely. Titus, Matt Tastic, Xander, and Garth Black are the only ones who have been here longer than you. We are losing stars. Titus is still Titus and could sell ice to Eskimos, but Xander has gone off the deep end in terms of his behavior. Black seems to have turned a corner in his attitude, but he isn't getting the fan support we need. I'm looking at you to really step up."

"What about Matt?"

Vance look a bit uncomfortable.

"I'm going to be honest with you Mikey, I'm not so sure about him. The fact is, Matt Tastic has really fallen off in recent months. Ever since your return from injury, you have been the hot ticket between the two of you. Matt has a few decent wins, but you have been hot. You rarely lose, you had the big Kingdom Come moment, you have endorsements and charity work, you are the first dual champion. That type of stuff doesn't go unnoticed."

I cracked a bit of a smile, I couldn't help it.

"I really appreciate that. It means a lot that the work I put in hasn't gone unnoticed."

"I'll be one hundred percent honest with you, I never thought you would be here. When I stepped down from my role, you were barely keeping your head above water. You couldn't find footing as a singles wrestler. Constantly failing to live up to the expectations placed upon you during your tag team career. You stuck with it though. I know you sacrificed a lot to get where you are, and now look at you. Record setting tag team champion. Two time World Champion. Grand Slam Champion. Hall of Famer. First ever dual champion. You have surpassed all expectations. Because of that, you were one of the superstars I wanted to focus on and meet with when I came back. Shame what happened with Banks, but it was for the best. He was too unpredictable. Really all over the map. You can't be a good boss that way and its my intent to be the opposite. Not to say I never made mistakes in my first run, but I fully intend to be as impartial as possible."

"So what did you have in mind? I'm extremely open to suggestion."

I regretted that choice of words.

"So I've been told. I'll cut right to the chase. Our midcard titles have been overlooked for some time. It seems as soon as we start to elevate one, such as the EurAvison reign, the other falls off. Callie Clark did a worthy job as Elite Champion, but during that time the EurAsian Title was non existent. Now that we have a fresh champion the fans want to get behind, the EurAsian has taken center stage due to the tournament. Chuck Myles came to me with a suggestion over the weekend to get his title and his show back on even ground with Meltdown and the EurAsian Title. He wants you to hold an open challenge at the Gold Rush pay per view. Anyone is eligible, save those already booked into a match that night. Obviously this puts you at a disadvantage as you have no idea who your challenger will be, but it gives the fans a bit of mystery and intrigue. Who knows who could show up? I told him I thought it was a great idea, but I won't sign off on it if you are uncomfortable with it."

"Imma keep it real with you chief, that isn't my favorite idea."

"Truth be told, I didn't think you would go for it."

"If I have to do this, can I not defend the Mayhem Title at Gold Rush?"

"There is no guarantee you will be Mayhem Champion at Gold Rush. You have to defend against Keith Kole this week."

"Yeah I know, and I'm not saying its a gimmie. I will say that I know how his shtick is gonna go down. He and Flex are gonna call me fat. Keith is gonna make fun of Taco Bell."

"You seen confident."

"It comes with experience. I've seen how every hot headed rookie and every angry vet trying to make their name off of my success plays it. I already said the fat jokes. Probably someone telling me to go back to the Nintendo. Wrap themselves in fast food puns. You know Kole will do it because of his background, and I don't blame him. I'm an easy target, I mean look at me. When I step into that ring though, you are looking at a man who has held eight different title belts. A man who has survived wars with Ty Burna, Constantine, Matt Tastic. A man who did a moonsault off the top of a steel cage through a table to win gold. A man undefeated in Mayhem matches. So let them come with petty insults and puns. Let Kole buy up Taco Bell. Hell let Flex burn the place down. Just know when you step into the ring with me, its Game Over!"

Vance Bateman looked at me with a concerned look on his face.

"Did you just cut a promo in my office?"

"I'm that dedicated. I know being a dual champion, being a man you want to position as a face of the company, being a Hall of Famer; those are big responsibilities. These shoulders can carry a lot though."

Vance nodded and smiled.

"I'm impressed Mikey. I've gotten constant warnings from Chuck that you are a handful, and honestly he isn't wrong. I admire the oassion that you bring though."

"So yeah, bring Keith Kole, bring Callie Clark, bring Showtime, bring Godzilla, bring Thanos, bring anyone you want to D.C. to challenge me, but I am keeping this Elite Overweight Title. And I will be keeping this Mayhem Title, even if I have to wrestle twice that night."

Vance stood and extended his hand.

"I'm glad you feel that way. I knew I could count on you to step up. I'll speak with Chuck and Becky about trying to give you a more concrete answer on who your Mayhem opponent will be. It is the least I can do."

I stood and shook the boss man's hand to seal the deal. I knew that wrestling twice in one night would be tough, but I was confident I could get past Kole and keep my title. That would give me all the momentum I needed to carry into Gold Rush. I was so amped up I was singing my theme song all the way to the lobby.

When I pulled out my phone to call an Uber back to the hotel, I saw I had missed calls from Matt and Katherine. I knew I needed to speak with Matt, but the time difference between Vegas and Puerto Rico was killing me. I missed her. I wanted nothing more than to be with her, but for now her voice would have to do. Besides, Matt could handle being blown off.